Resumo

LAVIN ORAMAS, Judith; PEREZ RODRIGUEZ, Antonio; FINLAY VILLALVILLA, Carlos M  e  SARRACENT PEREZ, Jorge. Intestinal parasitism found in a school children cohort from two municipalities in the City of Havana province. Rev Cubana Med Trop [online]. 2008, vol.60, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3054.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal parasitism is still a health problem in Cuba, although much less serious than in other underdeveloped countries. OBJECTIVE: to determine the extent of this disease in a group of school children from the City of Havana. METHODS: Three hundred and twelve children from both sexes aged 8-15 years, who belonged to the school population from Vedado and Punta Brava health areas, were studied in the years 2002 and 2004. Each child´s feces were analyzed by direct examination and Kato Katz techniques. RESULTS: the prevalence rate was 48.4/100 pop in 2002 and 45.2/100 pop in 2004. Protozoa prevailed in both studies. Blastocystis hominis was the most diagnosed parasite presenting higher figures in 2004, with a prevalence rate of 19.2 /100 pop, whereas the figure was 15.7/100 pop in 2002. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar was more prevalent in 2004 (6/100 pop). Among the helminths, Trichuris trichiura y Ascaris lumbricoides exhibited higher prevalence rates in 2002, with 11.2/100 pop and 5.1/100 pop respectively. Abdominal pain was the most referred symptom, mostly associated to the affected child (RR> 2; p< 0.001). The coincident percentage of children with parasites was 20.8 % in both years; of these, 38.4 % showed low percentile and 35.3 % of children did never suffer from parasitism. CONCLUSIONS: the results revealed that despite the advances of the healthcare system in Cuba, the intestinal parasitism continues to be a real challenge.

Palavras-chave : Parasitism prevalence; school children cohort; associated factors; nutritional assessment; symptoms.